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UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


AA    001  161 166    2 


Eaplu  Social  Life  In  Edgecombe 


ALSO 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  EDGECOMBE,  AND 

A  TARBOREAN'S  EXPERIENCE 

ABROAD. 


THREE  ARTICLES 


BY 


GASXON    LICHTENSXEIN. 


Reprinted  from  The  Tarborough  Southernhr,  Tarboro,  N.  C. 


RICHMOND,  VA. 

WM.   ELLIS   JONES,  BOOK  AND  JOB   PRINTER. 
1904. 


Eaplu  Social  Life  in  EdQecomba 


ALSO 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  EDGECOMBE,  AND 

A  TARBOREANS  EXPERIENCE 

ABROAD. 


THREE  ARTICLES 


BY 


GASTOX    LICHTENSTEIN. 


Rei'rinted  from  The  Taruorough  Soitherner,  Takhoro,  N.  C. 


RICHMOND,  VA. 

\VM.  1:LLIS   JONES,   BOOK  AND   JOB    PRINTER. 
1904. 


Earlu  Social  Life  In  Edgecombe. 

Physical  Prowess  the  Standard  of  Greatness  One  Hundred 
and  Fifty  Years  Ago. 


Socially  aii<l  religiously  the  early  inliahitant??  of  Edgecombe 
were  in  a  deplorable  condition. 

Dr.  Battle  says:    "The  first  settlers  in  this  county  lived  in  a 
state  of  society  not  far  better  than  the  Indians.      If  we  may 
divide  the  state  of  society  into  the  savage,  the  barbarous  and 
the  civilized,  we  might  place  them  in  the  second  class.     So  late 
o2  iis  fifty  years  ago  (circa  1702)  there  were  only  a  few  neighbor- 
ed hoods  on  the  water  courses  that  enjoyed  the  blessings  of  a  social 

M  life.     Plantations  were  few  and  small,  and  men  would  go  seven 
•J  .  .  .  . 

or  eight  miles  to  assist  each  other  in  heaping  logs.      These 

log-heapings  were  viev\'ed  as  mere  frolics,  where  the  robust  and 
athletic  could  meet  together  and  show  their  manhood.      This 
labor  was  then  performed  without  the  assistance  of  negToes.     A 
en  perfect  state  of  equality  can  well  be  imagined  pervaded  the 
^  community.     Almost  the  only  distinction  known  or  sought  after 
'^  consisted  in  corporeal  exertion.     This  circumstance  led  to  many 
a.  a  fight  between  men  Mdio  had  no  enmity  toward  each  other. 
(/>  Some  champions  would  travel  many  miles  to  meet  with  a  com- 
batant who  had  been  celebrated  as  a  fighter.     Their  mode  of 
warfare  was  called  'fist  and  skull,'  but  was  too  frequently  accom- 
panied with  a  biting  and  a  gouging,  and  we  are  still  reproached 
b}^  foreigners  for  retaining,  as  they  erroneously  suppose,  this 
uibarbarous  practise." 

w     Throughout  the  Colony  matters  came  to  the  pass  that  on 

c Thursday,  A])ril  2,  1752,  a  message  from  the  Governor  was 

floread  to  both  Houses  of  Assembly,  to-wit:    ''Gentlemen,  I  must 

O  recommend    to   you    in    particular   to   take    the   most   etfectual 

3 measures  for  promoting  Keligion  and  Virtue  and  suppressing 

Vice  and  Immorality,  which  are  come  to  such  a  dreadful  height 

in  this  Province.     T  desire  you  in  a  special  manner  to  take  into 

your    consideration    the   barbarous    and    inhuman    ^fanner   ot 

Boxing  which  so  much  prevails  among  the  lower  sort  of  People  ; 

this  Practice  is   attended  with   circumstances  of   rrueltv   and 


234G(i; 


Horror,  and  is  really  shocking  to  human  nature ;  and  I  have 
been  informed  of  no  less  than  four  persons  who,  within  these 
two  years,  have  come  to  a  violent  Death  by  this  atrocious 
Custom.  I  am  afraid  the  Laws  now  in  Being  are  defective  in 
this  affair,  and  so  you  are  the  Guardian  of  the  Lives  and 
Properties  of  his  Majesty's  Subjects,  it  is  in  my  opinion,  your 
Duty,  by  a  Particular  Law,  to  put  a  stop  to  such  bloody  and 
horrid  Quarrels." 

Rev.  James  Moir,  who  spent  some  time  among  these  people 
doing  missionary  work,  has  the  following  to  say : 

Edgecombe  Co.,  ^^ov.  22,  1748. 

Rev.  Sir  (To  the  Secretary)  : 

When  I  was  preparing  to  leave  this  Province  in  the  Spring, 
many  of  our  communion  told  me  they  thought  it  my  duty  to 
continue,  not  only  because  they  were  pleased  with  my  labours, 
but  more  especially  because  a  great  number  in  the  county  had 
turned  Baptists  for  want  of  a  clergyman,  and  for  encourage- 
ment they  assured  me  that  next  Easter  Monday  a  Vestry  was 
to  be  chosen  that  would  do  me  justice;  they  performed  their 
promise ;  for  ye  new  Vestry  called  the  Tax  gatherers  to  account 
and  paid  my  Salary  faithfully,  and  withal  gave  me  to  know  that 
they  would  slip  no  opportunity  of  purchasing  a  Glelie  and 
making  conveniences  for  me,  and  that  in  acting  thus,  they  did 
nothing  but  was  very  agTeeable  to  the  body  of  the  People. 
They  also  allowed  me  more  time  to  officiate  in  remote  places 
than  the  former  Vestry  had  done.  These  considerations  pre- 
vailed with  me  to  agree  for  another  year.  By  riding  through 
the  upper  parts  I  plainly  see  they  require  three  missionaries, 
one  to  the  South  near  ye  Branches  of  Pedee  river,  another  upon 
the  ISTeuse  120  miles  above  !^v'ewbern  and  the  third  in  the  Xorth 
towards  Virginia.  The  people  seem  much  inclined  to  en- 
courage Missionaries  and  often  complain  of  their  being  pestered 
with  sermons  of  Baptist  Teachers,  whom  I  have  always  found 
to  be  as  grossly  ig-norant  as  those  they  pretend  to  teach.  I 
should  be  under  no  doubt  of  a  Missionarys  doing  very  well  in 
those  parts  had  not  the  rulers  of  this  Province  passed  a  Law  last 
April  for  issuing  paper  Bills  to  the  value  of  £23,000  Procla- 
mation money — when  I  was  at  Cape  Fear,  the  begimiing  of  this 
month,  I  had  some  of  my  Salaries  paid  in  these  new  Bills,  and 


offered  them  at  10  per  cent.   Discount  for  cash  hut  can  goi 
nothing  for  them. 

I  cannot  give  a  particuhu'  account  of  the  persons  I  have  hap- 
tized  since  ^lichaehnas,  1747,  it  frequently  happening  that  I 
am  not  so  well  acquainted  as  to  desire  any  to  take  the  number. 
Several  spectators  have  told  me  T  baptized  above  a  hundred  in 
one  day.  Two  white  adults  I  baptized  by  dipping.  Last 
Whitsunday  I  had  95  communicants.  I  received  your  favour 
of  February  4th,  1747,  and  purpose  to  draw  in  Bills  till  the 
Venerable  Society  sees  fit  to  appoint  me  their  Missionary  for 
the  Xorthern  District  in  the  upper  parts.  If  I  can  obtain 
leave  of  the  Parish  I  hope  to  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you 
next  Summer  and  am  in  the  meantime  Reverend  Sir, 
Your  most,  etc., 

Ja:mes  Moir. 

Before  reproducing  a  second  letter  from  the  able  writer  I 
shall  quote  from  Rev,  Clement  Hall,  another  missionary  of  the 
Church  of  England,  who  informs  his  superiors :  "Our  chuj'ch 
at  Edenton  is  yet  unfinished,  but  one  is  lately  built  in  Edge- 
combe county  where  Mr.  Moir  resides,"  Extract  written  in 
year  1749. 

My  object  in  quoting  freely  is  to  bring  the  readers  directly^ 
as  it  were,  in  contact  with  the  lives  and  times  of  those  whom 
Ave  are  seeking  to  know  better,  their  religion,  customs,  laws,  etc. 

N^ow  we  come  to  the  second  letter  of  James  Moir,  written  in 
Edgecombe  county.  May  2,  1749 :  ''This  vestry  met  yesterday 
and  notwithstaufling  I  promised,  if  they  gave  me  leave  to  go 
to  London  this  Summer,  to  return  with  all  convenient  speed, 
they  would  not  agree  to  it  for  the  reasons  mentioned  in  my 
letter  of  the  22nd  Xovember.  I  then  considered  how  forward 
they  were  to  get  things  in  order  for  the  publick  worship.  The 
church  is  almost  finished  (completed  before  Sept.,  1749,  ac- 
cording to  Clement  Hall),  and  perceiving  my  absence  might 
discourage  them,  I  dropt  my  resolution  of  going  to  Sea  this 
Summer,  upon  which  they  instantly  laid  a  tax  for  building  two 
new  chapels.  After  all  I  am  apprehensive  the  new  paper  Bills 
emitted  last  year,  will  frustrate  all  attempts  to  settle  Mission- 
aries among  even  the  upper  inhabitants.  I  can  get  nothing 
for  the  Bills  in  which  they  paid  my  Salaries  at  Cape  Fear,  and 
if  such  paA'ments  are  made  here    (which  this  vestry  hitherto 


6 

presented  as  much  as  ever  they  could)  I  must  leave  the  Pro- 
vince; Because  creditors  in  Time  of  War  are  paid  in  com- 
modities that  cannot  be  sold,  and  in  time  of  peace  in  paper 
Bills  of  no  real  value." 

Section  IT,  Dr.  Battle's  article  on  Edgecombe  reads  thus: 
"The  only  religious  denominations  in  the  county  are  the  Meth- 
odist and  Baptist.  The  former  are  not  numerous,  but  they 
have  several  places  of  worship  in  the  county,  and  frequently 
hold  meetings  in  town.  The  number  of  their  communicants 
is  not  ascertained. 

The  Baptist  had  eight  meeting  houses  in  the  year  1810  and 
about  five  hundred  and  twenty  communicants,  since  which 
there  have  been  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  added  (anno 
domini  1812),  and  another  meeting  house  is  building  near  the 
place  called  Shell-Banks,  and  is  to  bear  its  name  under  this 
head.  The  following  biogTaphical  sketch  is  added,  as  a  tribute 
to  the  memory  of  a  deceased  ancestor. 

Elisha  Battle  was  born  in  Xansemond  county,  Virginin,  the 
0th  of  January,  1723.  In  the  year  1718  he  moved  to  Tat 
river,  Edgecombe  county,  Xorth  Carolina.  About  the  year 
1764  he  joined  the  Baptist  church  at  the  Falls  of  Tar  fiver, 
and  continued  in  full  fellowsliip  until  his  death.  He  was  chosen 
Deacon  of  the  church,  and  served  in  that  ofiice  about  twenty- 
eight  years.  He  usually  attended  the  associations,  at  which 
he  sometimes  acted  as  moderator,  and  was  well  suited  to  the 
first  office.  It  is  well  known  he  was  a  remarkably  pious,  zeal- 
ous member  of  the  society,  and  was  always  plain  and  candid 
in  censuring  and  reproving  vice  or  follv  in  all  their  shapes, 
etc." 

From  another  source  I  am  enabled  to  give  the  history  of  the 
second  Baptist  settlement  in  Xorth  Carolina.  The  first  com- 
pany arrived  in  the  Colony  too  early  to  be  connected  with 
Edgecombe  history,  but  there  is  an  immediate  bond  of  union 
between  the  second  company  and  the  present  native  Baptists. 

"About  the  year  1742,  one  Wm.  Sojourner,  who  is  said  to 
have  been  a  most  excellent  man  and  useful  minister,  removed, 
with  many  of  his  brethren,  from  Berkley,  in  Virginia,  and  set- 
tled on  Kehukee  Creek,  in  the  county  of  Halifax  (then  part 
of  Edgecombe),  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  Xorth- 
east  of  Xewbern,  and  the  same  year  planted  a  church  in  that 
place,  which  continues  to  the  present  day.      This   church  has 


seen  prosperous  days,  and  has  been  a  mother  to  many  others, 
the  number  and  names  of  which  1  am  not  able  to  give." 

Most  of  the  Baptists  in  Xorth  Carolina  are  said  to  have 
emigrated  from  the  church  of  Burley,  in  Virginia,  but  by  the 
labours  of  Palmer  (founder  of  the  first  church  about  the  year 
1727,  at  a  place  called  Perquimans,  on  Chowan  river),  Parker, 
and  Sojourner,  and  other  preachers  who  were  raised  up  in 
the  parts,  so  many  were  brought  to  embrace  their  sentiments 
that  they,  by  about  the  year  1752,  had  increased  to  sixteen 
churches. 

These  churches  had  an  annual  interview,  or  yearly  meeting, 
in  which  they  inspected  or  regulated  the  general  concern  of 
their  community.  These  people  were  all  General  Baptists, 
and  those  of  them  who  emigi-ated  from  England  came  out 
from  that  community  there. 

Although  this  people  maintained  a  strict  adherence  to  Bap- 
tist principles,  so  far  as  baptism  was  concerned,  yet  in  process 
of  time  they  fell  into  a  loose  and  neglectful  manner  as  to  their 
rules  of  church  discipline,  and  so  continued  until  more  ortho- 
dox opinions  and  a  more  rigid  economy  in  their  ecclesiastical 
affairs  were  introduced  among  them,  etc." 

Rev.  John  Gano  was  sent  into  the  Southern  States,  in  the 
year  1754,  by  the  Philadelphia  Association,  to  instruct  and 
reform  the  people  who  had  fallen  into  the  undesirable  condi- 
tion mentioned  above.  There  were  other  gentlemen  who  as- 
sisted him,  but  I  here  intend  to  refer  only  to  one  particular 
occasion. 

On  Mr.  Gano's  arrival  he  sent  to  the  ministers,  requesting 
an  interview  with  them,  which  they  declined,  and  appointed  a 
meeting  among  themselves  to  consult  what  to  do.  Mr.  Gano, 
hearing  of  it,  went  to  their  meeting,  and  addressed  them  in 
words  to  this  effect:  'T  have  desired  a  visit  from  you,  which, 
as  a  brother  and  a  stranger,  I  had  a  right  to  expect,  but  as 
ye  have  refused,  I  give  up  my  claim  and  come  to  pay  you  a 
visit'  With  that,  he  ascended  into  the  pulpit  and  read  for  his 
text  the  following  words:  ^ Jesus,  I  know,  and  Paul,  I  know, 
but  who  are  ye  V  This  text  he  managed  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  make  some  afraid  of  him,  and  others  ashamed  of  their  shy- 
ness. Many  were  convinced  of  errors  touching  faith  and  con- 
version, and  submitted  to  examination,  etc. 

By  the  labors  of  ^Mr.   Gano  and  others  a  great  work  was 


effected  among  this  people,  which  consisted  not  merely  in  the 
important  business  of  reforming  their  creed  and  purifying  their 
churches,  but  also  in  reviving  the  power  of  Godliness  amongst 
the  erroneous  and  lukewarm  professors,  and  in  the  conviction 
and  conversion  of  others. 

The  Kehukee  Association,  which  bears  the  date  of  1765, 
was  organized  at  Kehukee  Creek  and  from  there  spread  over 
the  country.  The  churches  of  which  this  Association  was  first 
composed,  according  to  Burket  and  Eead,  who  wrote  its  his- 
tory in  1803,  were,  besides  the  one  from  which  it  was  named, 
those  called  Toisnot,  Falls  of  Tar  River,  Fishing  Creek,  Reedy 
Creek,  Sandy  Run,  and  Camden.  For  many  years  this  was  a 
very  efficient  and  prosperous  community;  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  its  ministers  were  among  the  most  able  and  active  in 
Xorth  Carolina,  and  its  bounds  were  so  greatly  enlarged  that 
in  twenty-five  years  it  had  increased  to  sixty-one  churches,  and 
upward  of  5,000  members.  The  churches  were  situated  in  the 
counties  of  Halifax,  Edgecombe,  Martin,  Washington,  Pitt, 
Beaufort,  Carteret,  Hyde,  Tyrrell,  Currituck,  Camden,  etc., 
according  to  the  Minutes  of  this  ancient  body  which  bears  the 
date  of  1842. 

Very  few  Presbyterians  lived  in  Edgecombe  during  the 
early  days  and  the  evidences  I  have  on  this  point  are  parts  of 
the  Journal,  or  diary,  of  Rev.  Hugh  McAden  (sometimes 
spelled  MeCadden)  ;     *     *     * 

^'Being  sent  for,  and  very  earnestly  entreated  to  go  to  Tar 
River,  I  took  my  journey  the  same  evening,  with  my  guide, 
and  rode  to  Bogan's,  on  Tar  River,  twenty  miles.  'Next  morn- 
ing, set  off  again,  and  rode  to  old  Shemian's,  on  Tar  River, 
and  preached  that  afternoon  to  a  small  company,  who  seemed 
generally  attentive,  and  some  affected." 

Xext  day  he  went  to  Grassy  Creek,  sixteen  miles,  where  was 
a  Baptist  meeting  house,  and  preached  to  a  people  Svho  seemed 
very  inquisitive  about  the  way  of  Zion.'  The  next  day  he 
accompanied  his  host,  old  Mr.  Lawrence,  to  Fishing  Creek,  to 
the  Baptist  Yearly  Meeting;  and  on  Saturday  and  Sunday 
preached  to  large  and  deeply  interested  audiences.  *  *  * 
On  Tuesday,  April  13th,  1755,  he  set  out  homeward,  and  rode 
twenty  miles,  to  Mr.  Toole's,  on  Tar  River,  etc. 

!N"o  Jews  are  mentioned  in  the  different  sources  and  Roman 


Catholics  would  have  found  the  district  unwelcome,  to  say  the 
least,  because  the  Papists,  as  they  are  called  in  the  Colonial 
Records,  were  intensely  hated  by  the  Protestant  denominations. 

One  can  easily  imagine  the  narrowness  and  bigotry  of  the 
early  settlers  by  reading  the  many  stories  of  cruelty  contained 
in  the  sources. 

Quakers  were  declared  undesirable  citizens  because  they  re- 
fused to  bear  arms,  their  very  peaceable  ways  appeared  to  affect 
their  neighbors  most  luipleasantly,  and  the  very  qualities  a 
citizen  to-day  most  admires  in  a  fellowman  were  frowned  down 
upon  by  the  spirit  of  the  age. 

Gradually,  intolerance  gave  way  to  tolerance,  and  unenlight- 
enment  to  enlightenment,  under  the  steady  advance  of  the 
school  teacher,  who  has  done  more  than  any  one  else  for  the 
progress  of  Xorth  Carolina.  He  has  prepared  the  way  for  the 
newspaper  Avhich  now  reaches  the  remotest  corners  of  the 
State,  and  which,  year  by  year^  raises  its  readers  to  an  intel- 
lectual height  undreamed  of  by  our  ancestors. 

The  present  day  citizen  of  Edgecombe  sits  in  happiness  and 
peace  "under  his  own  vine  and  fig  tree,"  and  on  the  Sabbatli 
worships  God  in  his  own  way. 

"Equal  rights  to  all,  special  privileges  to  none,"  stands  as  the 
Palladium  of  every  true  American,  and  how  feelingly  do  the 
public  school  children  of  all  denominations  unite  in  singing: 

"My  country,  'tis  of  thee, 
Sweet  land  of  Liberty." 


Earlu  Historu  of  Edgecombe, 

Dr.  Jeremiah  Battle,  a  native  of  Edgecombe,  prepared  in  the 
year  1812,  a  full  and  interesting,  statistical  and  historical,  ac- 
count of  the  county,  which  he  presented  first  to  the  local  "Agri- 
cultural Society,"  and  then  sent  to  the  "Editors  of  the  Star." 

In  this  article,  entitled  "The  County  of  Edgecombe  in  1810," 
the  writer  gives  the  following  opinion  as  to  the  advent  of  the 
white  man : 

"When  the  county  was  first  settled  cannot  be  well  ascertained 
from  any  documents  here,  but  it  was  probably  prior  to  the  year 
1726,  the  oldest  land  patents  we  have  met  with  bearing  this 


10 

date,  as  the  first  settlement  of  the  continent  commenced  at  the 
mouths  of  rivers,  so  these  interior  settlements  commenced  at 
the  mouths  of  creeks,  progressing-  upwards  as  the  natives  gave 
ground.  At  the  mouth  of  Town  creek,  it  is  believed,  was  the 
first  settlement  of  the  county.  The  site  of  Tarboro  and  its 
vicinity  were  settled  at  an  early  period." 

In  the  Colonial  Records  I  find  that  several  patents  were 
issued  for  grants  of  land  in  Edgecombe  precinct  during  the 
year  1735,  and  a  few  during  the  preceding  year,  but  one  must 
not  infer  that  these  were  issued  to  the  first  settlers,  for  prior 
to  1733,  Edgecombe  was  a  part  of  Bertie,  and  whatever  grants 
were  made  to  those  who  lived  in  this  district  before  the  latter 
date  received  their  lands  as  residents  of  Bertie,  so  it  is  extremely 
difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  determine  Avheu  and  Avhere  the 
pioneers  of  our  county  located  their  initial  settlement. 

At  a  Council  held  at  the  Court  House  in  Bertie  Precinct  on 
Friday,  October  17th,  1735,  matters  which  may  throw  light 
on  our  early  history  came  up  for  deliberation  before  the  Hon- 
orable Board  of  the  Royal  Colony  of  IS^orth  Carolina,  namely: 
*******  "Read  the  Petition  of  the  Inhabitants  of  Tar 
River,  setting  forth  that  they  are  20  families  in  number.  That 
Simon  Jeffries,  Dec'ed,  obtained  in  his  own  and  in  his  son 
Osborn's  name  three  Patents  for  1,000  Acres  of  Land  on  said 
River,  the  Warrants  for  which  have  been  so  run  out  as  to  take 
in  15  miles  on  the  said  River. 

''That  the  Orphan  of  one  Boyd  hath  a  purchase  Patent  for 
7,000  Acres  of  Laud  beginning  on  Town  Creek,  which  will 
take  in  most  of  their  Settlements. 

"That  one  of  the  Pollocks  has  purchased  patents  for  5  Sur- 
veys and  Town  Creek  and  several  others  lay  claim  thereto  tho 
they  never  made  any  settlements. 

"That  your  Petitioners  have  been  at  great  charge  in  culti- 
vating and  improving  the  aforesaid  Lands  and  have  the  late 
Governor  Burrington's  Warrants  for  the  Lands  whereon  they 
have  settled. 

"Therefore  most  humbly  pray  that  the  aforesaid  Jeffrys' 
Land  and  the  Lands  held  by  Purchase  Patents  be  resurveyed. 

"Whereupon  his  Excellency,  the  Governor,  by  and  with  the 
advice  of  his  Majesty's  Council,  was  pleased  to  order  that  Mr. 
Attorney-General  doth  forthwith  Enter  a  Prosecution  affainst 


11 

the  several  patentees  mentioned  in  the  aforesaid  Petition  in 
liis  Majesty's  Court  of  Exchequer." 

iSTorth  Carolina  was  inundated  Avith  a  steady  stream  of  immi- 
grants during  the  pre-Revolutionary  period  and  Edgecombe  re- 
ceived her  full  share  of  the  newcomers,  many  of  whom  came 
from  Virginia. 

To  quote  again  from  Dr.  Battle:  ''The  principal  'object  of 
the  first  settlers'  appears  to  have  been  the  enjoyment  of  ease 
and  idleness ;  and  there  is  not,  perhaps,  a  spot  in  the  State 
where  a  mere  subsistance  was,  and  still  is,  more  easily  procured 
than  here.  The  chief,  and  almost  entire  occupation  was  hunt- 
ing and  rearing  stock,  which  consisted  principally  of  horses  and 
cattle.  The  former  ran  wild,  and  were  pursued  and  taken  by 
stratagem  when  necessity  required ;  cattle  were  esteemed  of 
more  value,  and  were  kept  gentle,  but  subsisted  through  the 
year  without  feeding,  except  cows  and  calves.  Agricidture  was 
scarcely  thought  of.  The  settlers  were  much  of  their  time  un- 
der the  necessity  of  eating  meat  without  bread ;  a  horse  and 
plow  served  a  whole  neighborhood." 

Although  the  colonists  were,  by  nature,  ''docile,  peaceable, 
and  easily  governed,"  still  they  did  not  hesitate  to  assert  their 
rights,  as  evidenced  by  their  boldness  in  resisting  royal  au- 
thority on  several  occasions. 

A  case  in  point  happened  soon  after  Governor  Johnston  put 
an  end  to  the  Legislature  for  its  failure  to  uphold  him  in  the 
collection  of  Quit  Rents  at  unlawful  places. 

Some  months  thereafter,  in  1737,  according  to  Wm.  L.  Saun- 
ders, Col.  Rec,  Vol.  IV.,  Prefatory  Xotes,  pp.  xvi  and 
xvii,  at  the  General  Court  at  Edenton,  a  man  was  im- 
prisoned for  insulting  the  marshal  in  the  execution  of  his 
office  during  the  sitting  of  the  Court,  and  the  people  of  Bertie 
and  Edgecombe  precincts,  hearing  that  he  was  imprisoned  about 
his  quit  rents,  rose  in  arms  to  the  number  of  500,  and  marched 
within  five  miles  of  the  town,  intending  to  rescue  him  by  force, 
in  the  meantime  cursing  the  King  and  uttering  a  great  many 
rebellious  speeches.  By  this  time  the  man  had  made  his  peace 
v/itli  the  Court,  and  the  crowd  learning  the  truth,  dispersed 
without  doing  any  mischief,  threatening,  however,  ''the  most 
cruel  usage  to  such  persons  as  durst  come  to  demand  any  quit 
lents  of  them  for  the  future,"  and  the  Governor  2'oes  on  to  sav 


12 

further,  ^'how  to  quell  them  I  cannot  tell  if  they  should  at- 
tempt an  insurrection  against  next  collection.''' 

It  may  interest  the  present  citizens  of  Edgecomhe  to  kno^v 
what  Johnston's  estimate  of  their  ancestors  amounted  to,  and 
I,  therefore,  add  two  more  sentences  from  his  pen:  "The  people 
seem  here  to  he  persuaded  that  they  may  do  what  they 
please,  and  that  they  are  below  the  notice  of  the  King  and 
his  ministers,  which  makes  them  highly  insolent.  They  never 
were  of  any  service  to  the  Lords  Proprietors,  and  if  something 
is  not  speedily  done  to  convince  them  that  his  Majesty  will 
not  be  so  used,  I  am  afraid  they  will  be  of  as  little  profit  to  the 
Crown." 

It  was  my  purpose,  at  the  outset,  to  confine  myself  strictly 
to  earliest  settlers  of  our  county,  but  in  the  course  of  this 
article  I  found  that  a  somewhat  general  presentation  of  colonial 
affairs  was  necessary.  I  have,  however,  succeeded  in  connect- 
ing Edgecombe  directly  with  all  the  events  mentioned  and  my 
readers  can  rest  assured  that  the  above  facts  were  taken  from 
unimpeachable  sources,  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  learn. 

In  my  opinion  the  history  of  our  county  should  be  taught 
in  the  local  public  schools.  For  this  reason  it  is  imperative  that 
a  good,  readable  account  of  our  past  should  be  prepared  by  one 
of  our  older  citizens,  many  of  whom  are  capable  of  the  task,  and 
who  ever  undertakes  this  laudable  work  will  earn  the  everlast- 
ing gratitude  of  posterit3^ 


A  Tarborean's  Experience  Abroad, 

Exi^r^  Province  Posex^  Prussia,  July  20,  1899. 

To  THE  Editor  of  the  Southerner  : 

For  the  benefit  of  your  readers  who  have  not  had  the  pleasure 
of  crossing  the  ocean,  I  will  tell  some  of  the  chief  incidents 
of  our  trip  from  the  morning  we  left  IvTew  York  harbor  up  to 
the  present  writing. 

We  sailed  from  the  ISTorth  German  Lloyd  pier  on  July  4tli. 
Our  ship.  Kaiser  Wilhelm  der  Grosse,  the  largest  and  fastest 
boat  in  the  world,  had  nineteen  hundred  persons  on  board. 
Thousands  stood  on  the  wharf  to  witness  the  departure,  and,  as 
the  boat  slowly  backed  out  into  mid-stream,   a  mighty   shout 


13 

Ment  up  from  the  assembled  hosts  on  shore,  which  was  answered 
hy  those  on  board,  the  ship's  band  adding  spiee  to  this  outburst 
of  American  enthusiasm  by  playing  one  of  Sousa's  stirring 
marches.  Even  after  the  shouting  could  no  longer  be  heard  we 
could  see  the  crowd  waving  their  handkerchiefs  and  small 
American  flags  until  we  lost  sight  of  them.  The  scene  was  one 
never  to  be  forgotten  and  one  which  has  to  be  seen  in  order  to  be 
appreciated  fully.  After  passing  out  of  the  harbor  the  pilot 
left  us  and  then  began  the  voyage  across  the  broad  Atlantic. 

Xo  one  in  our  party  was  seasick  at  any  time  during  the  seven 
days  we  spent  on  the  water.  The  trip  was  most  remarkable,  as 
there  was  not  a  single  rough  day,  and  the  boat  succeeded  in 
breaking  her  own  record  from  shore  to  shore.  She  arrived, 
however,  several  hours  late  at  her  first  port,  Cherl)ourg,  France, 
on  account  of  a  fog  in  the  English  Channel  which  caused  the 
ship  to  go  one  hundred  miles  out  of  its  course  and  si)oiled  our 
chances  of  becoming  famous,  because,  under  favorable  condi- 
tions, the  fastest  record  eastward  would  have  been  broken  by 
five  hours.  The  fog  came  near  causing  our  vessel  to  share  the 
fate  of  the  Paris.  The  officers  of  the  ship  had  lost  their  bear- 
ings and  were  surprised  all  of  a  sudden  by  seeing  rocks  ahead. 
The  boat  immediately  turned  around  and  put  off  as  quickly  as 
possible.  In  four  minutes  more  we  w^ould  have  been  wrecked. 
Very  few  of  the  passengers  learned  of  this  until  some  hours 
afterward,  and  all  the  excitement  had  then  passed  away. 

France  was  the  first  country  of  Europe  whose  shores  I  be- 
held. The  picture  before  me  was  the  most  beautiful  that  I  had 
ever  seen  or  have  seen  since.  Instead  of  the  low-lying,  liarren 
lands  along  the  coast  of  the  United  States,  the  country  is  ele- 
vated and  cultivated  down  to  the  water's  edge.  The  farms  are 
regular  and  hedged  off  from  o>ie  another  by  bushes.  In  a  cove 
lies  the  city  of  Cherbourg.  Old  time  fortifications  with  old- 
fashioned  cannon  protect  the  harbor.  Some  of  the  fortifications 
are  built  on  surrounding  islands  and,  as  the  ship  passed  tliem, 
Ave  could  see  French  soldiers  on  the  breast-works.  The  ]ilncid 
bay  dotted  with  small  sails,  the  blue  sky  overhead,  the  old  city 
with  its  fortifications,  with  a  background  of  perfect  green 
made  up  the  picture.  After  we  left  Cherbourg,  we  touched  at 
Southampton,  but  it  was  too  dai*k  to  make  any  observations. 
The  trip  from  Southampton  to  Bremen  w^as  a  lonesome  day,  be- 
cause so  many  passengers  had  disembarked  that  the  big  ship 


14 

seemed  deserted.  After  a  great  deal  of  trouble  we  arrived  in 
Bremen  at  ten  minutes  to  one  A.  M.  No  one  on  the  ship 
seemed  to  be  able  to  give  us  any  information  Avhether  we  could 
get  accommodations  the  night  of  our  arrival.  We  took  chances 
on  receiving  our  baggage  and  went  ashore.  Our  hand-satchels 
were  examined  at  the  wharf.  The  custom-house  officers  were 
not  rigid  with  us,  but  the  preparation  for  the  examination  was 
trying,  as  so  many  pieces  of  baggage  had  to  be  inspected.  We 
went  to  a  hotel  with  the  crowd  and  found  that  there  were  no 
rooms  to  be  had,  so  other  quarters  had  to  be  sought  after,  al- 
though the  night  was  far  gone.  We  saw  a  hotel  called  Eng- 
lische  Hof  and  went  in.  The  clerk  seemed  very  excited  because 
he  had  some  patrons  and  moved  about  like  a  busy  man.  We 
told  him  what  we  wanted  and  he  immediately  ran  to  a  black- 
board. Then  he  drew  chalk  marks  through  some  figures  which 
were  the  numbers  of  our  rooms  to  be,  and  arrang;ements  were 
complete. 

There  is  no  such  thing  as  a  hotel  register  in  Germany.  All 
one  has  to  do  is  to  come  into  a  hotel,  ask  for  a  room  and  tlie 
next  minute  he  is  ascending  the  steps,  that  is,  if  there  are  rooms 
to  be  had.  We  asked  the  clerk  why  the  hotel  was  called  an 
English  Hotel  when  no  one  spoke  English.  He  replied  that  it 
was  the  head  waiter  who  spoke  English.  Xext  morning  w^e  dis- 
covered that  the  head  waiter  knew  three  English  words.  Our 
trunks  were  found  soon  after  breakfast.  W^e  had  them  in- 
spected and  sent  by  express  to  Berlin.  If  they  had  gone  by 
freight,  I  don't  believe  we  ever  would  have  received  them.  My 
advice  to  a  tourist  in  Europe  is  not  to  take  a  trunk  along.  The 
Germans  are  slow  and  good-natured  people.  One  must  let  them 
take  their  time. 

After  attending  to  our  baggage  we  took  a  drive  through  Bre- 
men. The  first  part  of  the  drive  was  spent  inspecting  a  large 
park,  the  '^legend"  of  which  was  related  to  us  by  the  coachman. 
He  was  our  guide,  so  we  had  to  take  his  word  for  everything. 
He  spoke  in  German,  but  translated  into  English,  his  words 
were  about  as  follows:  "There  was  once  a  man  who  had  both 
legs  cut  off,  he  craw^led  over  this  ground  and  died,  and  all  the 
gi'ound  that  he  crawled  over  was  made  into  a  park."  You  can 
take  both  the  story  and  the  w^ording  for  what  it  is  worth.  T 
will  say,  however,  that  we  saw  in  this  park  a  statue  of  the  leglesi 


15 

man.     Bremen  is  an  ancient  looking  town,  but  some  of  the  new 
buildings  would  do  honor  to  our  large  cities. 

From  Bremen  we  went  to  Berlin  on  the  Express.  In  German 
it  is  called  the  Schnell  Zug.  We  were  shut  up  into  a  compart- 
m.ent,  but  it  is  an  advantage  over  an  American  train,  in  that 
you  can  make  yourself  as  comfortable  as  if  you  were  in  your 
own  room.  Xo  one  else  can  get  into  your  compartment  ex- 
cept through  the  door  on  the  side  of  the  car.  Every  com- 
partment has  a  door  on  each  side,  so  that  a  train  can  be 
emptied  three  times  as  fast  as  it  is  in  America.  At  every 
station  the  passengers  jumped  out,  drank  a  glass  of  beer,  ate  a 
sandwich,  and  waited  for  the  conductor's  whistle  to  get  on 
board  again.  To  me  this  kind  of  railroad  traveling  seemed 
like  child's  play.  In  fact,  the  whole  train,  engine  and  cars,  are 
midgets  beside  ours.  But,  as  I  said  before,  the  German  leads 
a  life  of  ease.  If  he  couldn't  eat  and  drink  all  day,  life  would 
not  be  worth  living.  Six  hours'  traveling  put  us  in  Berlin.  We 
hired  a  cab  and  drove  to  the  hotel.  At  the  door  we  were  received 
in  state  by  a  number  of  hotel  officials.  It  afterwards  turned  out 
that  their  extreme  goodness  resulted  from  the  anticipation  of  a 
large  tip.  The  gTeatest  evil  is  the  desire  among  the  employees 
in  any  kind  of  business  to  get  all  they  can  out  of  a  person,  espe- 
cially if  he  is  an  American.  I  would  call  it  a  failing,  because 
at  heart  no  one  is  better  than  a  German.  Their  best  quality 
is  extreme  politeness.  Mark  Twain  taught  me  a  lesson  which 
I  put  in  practice  the  night  after  I  arrived  in  Berlin.  In  his 
Tramp  Abroad  he  mentions  the  following  custom  prevalent 
throughout  Germany :  "When  one  sits  at  a  table  and  a  German 
wishes  to  take  a  seat  at  the  same  table,  he  bows  to  the  one 
seated,  although  they  have  never  seen  each  other  before.  Which- 
ever person  leaves  the  table  first  bows  to  the  other,  who  returns 
the  courtesy."  To  return  to  myself,  I  will  say  that  the  night 
following  my  arrival  in  Berlin,  I  was  seated  at  a  table  in  one 
of  the  large  beer  gardens.  (Perhaps  the  good  people  of  Tai'boro 
may  be  shocked  at  the  idea  of  a  beer  garden,  but  custom  favors 
it,  and  a  German  experiences  no  feeling  of  impro]iriety  1)y 
taking  his  wife  and  children  there  to  enjoy  a  pleasant  evening.) 
Tavo  gentlemen  sat  down  beside  me,  but  not  before  they  had 
tipped  their  hats  and  wished  me  good  evening.  I  was  not  ex- 
pecting it,  but  my  quick  American  mind  took  in  the  situation. 


2346G5 


16 

so  I  immediatelj  returned  tlieir  greeting.  I  determined  to 
leave  the  table  when  they  were  busily  engaged  in  conversation;, 
to  see  if  they  would  notice  it.  I  waited,  arose,  and  made  my 
bow.  It  was  very  pleasantly  returned.  A  German  will  go  out 
of  his  way  to  do  you  a  favor.  We  asked  a  number  of  them  for 
certain  streets  and  the  situation  of  buildings,  all  of  which 
questions  were  not  only  verbally  answered,  but  in  deed,  as  far 
as  they  could  spare  the  time. 

•  The  most  interesting  palace  that  we  have  visited  is  Sans 
Souci.  It  was  here  that  Frederick  the  Great  spent  his  summers. 
We  were  shown  Voltaire's  room,  Frederick's  library,  his  art  gal- 
lery, and  the  room  in  which  he  died.  The  clock  which  stopped 
at  twenty  minutes  past  two,  the  moment  of  his  death,  is  in  the 
room.  His  death  scene  is  preserved  in  marble.  We  also  visited 
the  vault  in  which  he  lies  buried,  and  stood  beside  his  coffin.  We 
were  then  on  historic  ground,  for  it  was  over  the  ashes  of  the 
Great  Frederick  that  Queen  Louisa,  her  husband,  King  Fred- 
erick William  III.,  of  Prussia,  and  Alexander  I.,  Czar  of 
Eussia,  swore  eternal  enmity  to  i^apoleon  Bonaparte. 

From  Berlin  we  went  to  Exin,  the  birthplace  of  my  grand- 
mother, where  we  are  at  present.  It  is  a  small  town  and  a  fine 
place  to  study  Polish -Prussian  peasant  life.  I  found  that  the 
Polish-Prussian  peasant  is  as  ignorant  and  slovenly  as  the 
Southern  negro.  A  number  of  peasants  of  both  sexes  were 
gathered  at  the  depot  on  our  arrival  and  blocked  our  exit  from 
the  train.  I  shall  never  forget  the  rough  way  in  which  the 
conductor  handled  one  of  the  women.  He  gave  her  a  terrible 
bloAv  on  the  head.  My  spirit  of  humanity  revolted  at  the  sight, 
but  I,  nevertheless,  knew  that  he  was  justified,  because  the  only 
way  to  handle  the  peasants  is  to  treat  them  like  brutes.  The 
small  children  looked  at  us  as  if  we  were  gods,  and  examined 
our  satchels  to  see  where  we  were  from.  They  caught  sight  of 
our  steamer  tags  and  their  curiosity  was  satisfied.  The  poor 
Avear  wooden  shoes  and  in  walking  on  paved  streets  they  make 
a  sound  like  the  clattering  of  horses.  On  entering  my  aunt's 
house  the  servant  kissed  my  grandmother's  hand,  which  is  the 
custom  in  this  part  of  Prussia. 


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